Thursday, August 7, 2008

Quick story...I brought a Weber grill about 3 years ago when I lived with some roommates. Love it. Then, moving time comes and we load up the grill on the truck to take it to the new house. Well, as we are getting on the highway in a big caravan and I'm in the last car, I see something fly past my windshield. The only thing I can think of is that it was something from the grill that may have gotten broken - we didn't have anything else that would be loose or could fly off.

So, we get to the new house and yes indeed - the side tray from the grill is missing. How it came off, I have no idea. But it was gone. I tried to go back and find the piece, but had no luck doing that. Well, that little side tray is pretty handy, so I couldn't live without it. I go onto Weber's website and try to find the replacement part. As I was shopping, I came across the Command of the Grill: A Salute to Steak cookbook. What is it you ask? Here's a description from their site:

The cookbook features a collection of 29 recipes from winners and runners-up in “Command of the Grill™” grilling competitions held at ten USMC installations across the United States in 2005. Additionally, you’ll find recipes from famous former Marines, like Ed McMahon and Lee Trevino. Every penny of the $10 purchase price goes directly to four worthy charities that support wounded Marines and the families of Marines killed in action, specifically:Wounded Warrior Project, Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, Fisher House™, and the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation. Soft cover. 80 pages. Visit the companion Web site, www.commandofthegrill.com for more information.

We don't eat much steak in our house. Maybe once or twice a year, if that. But, there are a lot of Marines in my family (my grandpa, my uncle, some cousins, and my brother). Why did they all join the Marines? Basically, as Tim (my brother) put it to his recruiter, "Because if I joined any other branch, my family would make fun of me". haha - it's true. I bought 3 cookbooks...one for Tim, one for my dad, and one for me!

So far we have made a couple of the steaks, but that was pre- Delicious Meliscious, so this is my first blog about it. I definitely recommend getting the cookbook. It's for a good cause and would make a great gift for any guy who likes steak - which is pretty much all of them!

The book is full of pictures, stories and steak recipes from active duty Marines. It also features some celebrity, former Marines like Ed McMahon, Tom Seaver, George Jones, and several more. One of the celebrities featured is Dan Lauria - the dad from the Wonder Years. His recipe is the one I am posting about today: Marinated Flank Steak with Lemon-Garlic Butter.

I am giving Aaron 100% credit for this, as he did all of the prep and grilling. The steak was marinated all day (2-4 hours would be fine) in some fresh parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, and other ingredients. Then, it was grilled over high heat for 8-9 minutes total. Aaron has really taken on the role of grillmaster and learned from this book, the proper way to grill a steak and get those cool criss-cross grill marks, and have a good medium/pink center.

While he was grilling, I made up the lemon butter made from butter, fresh parsley, lemon zest, and other ingredients. The butter gets smeared all over the top of the steak while you let it stand. So good. I love the lemon butter on this steak! Make sure you eat a salad with this!

Now I have a grill with some nice cast iron grates, so I think I'll do better next time around. :-)

I posted the recipe as part of a week of recipes from Command of the Grill in celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday, and to try and promote this book, since the entire purchase price benefits Marine related charities.

The series wasn't hugely popular, but this year I would like to get some other bloggers involved too. Let me know if you have any interest in taking part.